


Fountain of Youth, the Elixir of Eternal Life

by MegumitheGreat



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Ar tonelico AU, Artwork by Zyo, Betaed by Quetz and OathSister, Books, Hellions, Hymmnos, Illustrated, M/M, Ruin Nerds, Shelanoir's Forest, Singing, Sormik Big Bang 2019, magic forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:55:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21536326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegumitheGreat/pseuds/MegumitheGreat
Summary: At Lailah's request, Sorey and Mikleo take a break from their adventure and go through Pendago Shrinechurch's library.  Coming across a legend titled "Shelanoir's Forest", they find themselves trapped within its pages and living the roles of the characters inside.
Relationships: Mikleo/Sorey (Tales of Zestiria)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 40
Collections: Sormik Big Bang 2019





	1. Into a New Realm

**Author's Note:**

> **PLEASE READ ON LAPTOP TO SEE THE ART!**
> 
> Gooooooood morning! This is my fanfiction for the SorMik Big Bang 2019! Of course, I did an Ar Tonelico AU for mine because I wanted an opportunity to write another Song, but this also has elements from the one episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog where Muriel is a fairy and Eustace is a troll. Also a bit of FFX if you can guess the scene.
> 
> This is also the first time I'm releasing my Hymmnos lyrics in context of a story AND the English translation/meaning. Please respect my wishes and DO NOT post them anywhere else.
> 
> My artist for the Big Bang is Zyo ([twitter](https://twitter.com/zinami_zyo)) whose amazing art for this fic will be added ASAP! I'd also love to thank Quetz ([twitter](https://twitter.com/Quetzacotlchu)) and Oathsister ([twitter](https://twitter.com/miranda_s_c_)) for their support!

Sorey and Mikleo were taking a break from their mission to stop Heldalf and restore the world, presently hurting from the poisonous malevolence ravaging it from within, to what it once was. That was the relentless and burdensome duty of the Shepherd. As such, it was at Lailah’s behest that they took some time to relax and refocus themselves. Having spent so much time trying to keep going with their quest, not to waste time on detours, visiting the Towers when necessary to find a balance between humans and seraphim, and to understand fully why Heldalf was doing what he was doing; she believed it was imperative that they took the chance to rest while they still could.

Although there was a consensus that they needed to hurry, and because there had been little to no time for childish revels that had been pushed to the side outside of Dives into their friends, Sorey and Mikleo were in dire need for something that could at least simulate their adventures into the colorful stories of distant past ranging from the construction of the Towers to the different time periods they had learned about in their childhood. That said, they weren’t allowed to leave Pendrago to go gallivanting in the ruins just north of the city nor to attempt to make it back up to the Second Tower Frelia for some sightseeing. They were supposed to rest up, not expend the energy they didn’t have.

The next best idea and the only other thing to do was to peruse the selection of records and tomes in the shrinechurch. It was safer in there, after all—well, at least now it was since the IPD seraphim that had been imprisoned had been liberated. The books on those pristine shelves were some of the rarest, and Sorey couldn’t deny that he had wanted to read all of them when they first arrived there.

“This is so cool, Mikleo!” he said with all the enthusiasm as a curious child. The pair of boys had been waiting for this opportunity. “Where should we start?”

Each shelf had been divided into certain sections. The History of the Glenwood Continent, Mythology of Elemia, Legends of Rhaplanca, a book on each myth concerning the goddesses that were thought to have created the entire planet called the Wills of the Planet—there were far more they could read into, just not enough time in one day. And each of these stories were decorated with elaborate and even gold-gilded covers that were so attractive. Which one could they pick?

Mikleo’s slender fingers glided over the spines of the records, and Sorey watched him with anticipation. He remembered when he had picked up the strange anthology called The _Mad Screams of Love_ something-or-other. It was definitely a find, whether it was good or not depended on the person reading it. While he had thought it was enjoyable, Mikleo and Lailah had both been embarrassed by it.

But this time, the water seraph stopped on the spine of a book that had been written first in the language of the gods Ar Ciela then in the common tongue. “This one is called…‘Shelanoir’s Forest’,” he read aloud. “It’s a pretty short one, too. Why not look at this one?”

“Whatever you want to check out! I’m game for anything!” Sorey laughed. When Mikleo handed him the book, which looked closer to a children’s book than mythological text, he was overcome with an interest that lit his emerald eyes up. “This looks good. And it’s got Ar Ciela—oh, and there’s a little bit of Ancient Tongue.”

“Really? How strange.”

“Maybe translated text?”

The two mulled over the book for a few minutes until a priest of the shrinechurch noticed that they were holding it. He walked over to them, a kind smile on his lips. Sorey saw him first, a sudden feeling of anxiety spiking in his heart. The priest had two little nubs on his forehead. Aside from that, he looked normal, and yet those two nubs made him think that perhaps he was some sort of human-dragon cross—far more latent than Ekseo, Guardian Seraph of Igraine.

“Good evening, Lord Shepherd and Holy Seraph,” he greeted respectfully. “Having a look at our small library?”

Sorey nodded. He was caught staring at the nubs. “Uh…”

“These? Merely a deformity from birth.”

“I’m sorry for staring. I thought it was something else, ha-ha.”

Mikleo sighed. He had clearly made the priest uncomfortable, so he took it upon himself to change the subject. Holding the book up to him, he asked if they could borrow it for the night.

“If you’d like to, I can loan it out to you,” the priest happily offered. “We do have a strict policy that all records must be returned by the morning of the next day, and while this one is shorter than the others, will you really have enough time to read it?”

“Of course, we can,” Mikleo told him, a little bit of nonchalance in his voice. “The Lord Shepherd and I have spent the days of our youth reading the Celestial Record over and over. We can probably read that within a few hours alone now. A new tome in our repertoire won’t take terribly wrong—certainly not one of this length.”

Sorey wanted to agree with Mikleo, but somehow, he felt that his manner of speaking was a little much. Nevertheless, the priest was convinced that they could read the entire story and enjoy it. He added that the book was originally written in Ar Ciela and that the common translation was still yet imperfect. It didn’t matter, though. Sorey and Mikleo liked a challenge.

They left the shrinechurch with the book, priest watching them go. As they walked back to the inn where their friends were either in the baths or already sleeping, they dreamed up what the book would be about. They couldn’t have read the back or the summaries of the story without Armatizing, and while they regularly Armatized to Dive or fight, something about fusing together into one body in the shrinechurch—in front of a priest—felt like a breach of privacy.

As usual, they took the bedroom separate from everyone else in the inn to leaf through the book and begin dissecting it, only looking at the Ar Ciela text to pick their brains even more. They took turns reading it, skimming the lines of text and focusing on certain aspects that reminded them of the Celestial Record. Of course, there were obvious differences specifically that the Celestial Record was historical text and Shelanoir’s Forest was based myths.

“True, myths and history are separate concepts, but it’s still possible that myths could have happened,” Sorey said to himself.

“And it’s not like gods and goddesses don’t exist—perhaps this story really did happen?” Mikleo postulated. He looked down at the Ar Ciela on the page, and by the candlelight, he found that the lettering was somewhat iridescent. “Sorey, look at this.”

Sorey examined the lettering closely as Mikleo tilted the book in the light. He saw the myriad of colors in the ink, too. “Is that…iris gem?”

“Is it even possible to grind iris gems into powder for ink? Wouldn’t destroying iris gems mean losing the record of events in them and releasing the malevolence?”

“Just how long ago was this written then? And what happened to the malevolence?”

“What if the record contained within the iris gem was written into this book? It would make sense.”

“Either way, let’s Armatize,” Sorey finally said. He took Mikleo’s hand. “We know that by Armatizing, we can understand the iris gems a little better.”

“If we Armatize now, we might be able to read the story as written then.”

Both of them were raring to go now. Sorey called Mikleo’s true name, “ _Luzrov Rulay!_ ” They merged instantly as one, sharing their consciousness like they always did when they Dived and when they fought in battle. With the aid of a seraph, whose existence was tied to the world propagated by the beings that supplied both his Song Magic and Seraphic Artes, Sorey took hold of the book.

“Ready, Mikleo?” he asked his partner excitedly.

_“Let’s begin,”_ Mikleo replied, his cool voice resonating in Sorey’s head.

They started reading the Ar Ciela text carefully and with intent, devouring the words as best as they could. Even while Armatized, they had no luck translating the story. Instead, the book itself shined brightly in their hands like the iris gems did when it showed them the records of the past; however, the light didn’t just show them the past.

Rose opened their bedroom door to ask them for an extra few gald coins. The book sat on the bed, and she simply assumed that they were still out and about in Pendrago.

=========================================  
_saa liv ar utti ZeeiFaLea_  
=========================================

The air was cool, a thin mist enshrouding the forest. Brilliant water flowers dotted the bushes in strange hybridizations of land flora and aquatic flora. Crystal clear water glistened, a small shrine sitting at the bottom of the lake holding it.

Sorey slowly woke up to this strange place, his senses being flooded. The sights and sounds were things he had never experienced, the light mist settling on his skin to create a layer of coolness that he only associated with Mikleo. His head was pounding, but when he went to touch his head, he found that he was wearing different clothes.

Replacing his usual attire, he donned a dark-colored traditional pants and shirt. He still had his feathered earrings, but they were caught by a sash tied as a headband across his forehead. If Rose and that other had seen him, they would think that he was some sort of rice farmer up in the mountains. Instead of his ornamental sword that was always tied to his belt, he had a small makeshift dagger.

“What…happened…?” he whispered. Uttering a sound, he suddenly felt queasy, as if he had been on some wild ride that had shaken him up a little too much. Then, as quickly as it came, the nausea disappeared. “Mikleo? Mikleo!” he called out. “Where…am I anyway?”

He pushed himself up. Still, he didn’t recognize where he was, but there was a creeping shadow in his heart. It was a dreadful anxiety not unlike what he felt when he was near a strong hellion or even Heldalf himself. He needed to find Mikleo. He feared for his safety because, and he would always remember what Lailah had said, water was particularly vulnerable to malevolence. It polluted it like poison. To be without Mikleo to keep him safe from it while he gave him strength and healing meant that his partner would be easily corrupted.

He heard something within the forest where he had awoken. Quiet and mesmerizing, it was a familiar sound. He followed it with great curiosity. The voice that sung was someone he knew, and the only other person that he had come to this world with was Mikleo. Could it have been Mikleo that was singing?

_Was apea ra rre weak pomb lasye urrmie_  
Once upon a time, the moon gave birth to a prince  
_Ma granme erra rre weak lasye grandi anw zaarn dea maya oz kapa_  
Using his power of water and the ocean  
_En vaffa elle herr corle anw gyas_  
He protected his heart from the poison of hate and evil  
_Was yea ra haf dius ptrapica innna syec mea_  
His heart, an invaluable treasure, lay deep in the abyss

He came to a delta bordered by shrubs and bushes of the aquatic plants he had seen before. The grass turned into crystal-like—probably closer to fine grains of white salt—sand here had been submerged in water as clear and pristine as the lake he had woke up next to. And in the middle of the watery stage with the moon shining overhead was his water seraph.

_(Rasse wasse yehah. Rasse wasse yehah, rasse wasse yehah, ras-se was-se…yehah!)  
(Cheers and praise for happiness!) _

He wore strange clothes that billowed around him like clouds dripping rain, starting white then flowing into a deep aquamarine that he only associated with his hair. Every movement was followed by a trail of water. Sorey wasn’t sure if he was truly looking at Mikleo, whose porcelain appearance had elevated to something godlike.

_Nn ki ga rre weak lasye chs na wasa sev dauan bexm_  
The moon prince was always tired by morning  
_Fou paks ga re herr giue dea papulipua van denera stel herr corle_  
And seized with worry that his heart would b stolen by darkness  
_Ma paks wa aulla murfanare mea tes sheak_  
He only revealed his heart to the sun prince  
_Li keenis sol en accrroad pawr tes mea_  
Whose brilliant radiance gave him strength

Sorey didn’t understand Hymmnos, the language that seraphim sang to use their holy Song Magic and make their imagination manifest into small illusory phenomena. He had learned a few words, but the grammar itself was a challenge—a very different convention than what was used in the common tongue and even in the Ancient Tongue. Regardless, he so desperately wanted to know what Mikleo was singing about. It had to be something dear to his heart; his voice sounded so sweet yet so reserved and, dare he thought, lonely.

“Could Mikleo always sing like this?” he asked himself.

_Weak melenas sheak, sheak melenas weak_  
The moon loved the sun, and the sun loved the moon  
_Was granme erra rre sheak weel swant herr inferiare weak_  
The sun prince truly wanted to help his beloved  
_Den herra na synk_  
But they couldn’t be together  
_Forgandal re herra ferda chamo dea etealuear!_  
Because they were destined to live in separate worlds!

_Wee touwaka ra aiph rre merra irs pitod_  
If we existed at the same time  
_Li gyas oz plargamera quen calamila won Ar ciel_  
Humanity’s folly will créate a catastrophe on us  
_Presia grandi zaarn_  
_Presia arsye murfanare mea tes infelious sheak_  
_Was apea erra…_  
_Was touwaka erra…_  
_Rre weak en sheak fujara ween infel_  
The desire to protect the ocean and to give his heart to the sun prince  
The moon prince and the sun prince deepened their love

Mikleo danced to his own Song, his cheeks tinged with pink as if he were embarrassed or perhaps full of love. He knew what he was singing, and while he hesitated implicitly to ever speak such words—Hymmnos or not—to Sorey, singing them not knowing he was behind him gave him a freedom that he never knew as far as his feelings were concerned. Mixing together in love…he hoped that one day he could do that. As it was now, he wasn’t sure if he could handle it. He wasn’t sure if Sorey would want to. He never really showed much of an interest, but perhaps it was because they rarely had time to themselves to sit back and enjoy each other. They were always so busy completing one task or starting anew.

What was he thinking? Of course, they didn’t have time to indulge each other with a deeper love past the quiet affections they already expressed! They had to save the world! Sorey…had to accomplish his duties as the Shepherd.

Still, at least he had this Song and the dream he waited to make come true. For now, he figured, he could sing his passions and use the power in that to do what he needed to do.

_Was apea erra hartes eazas li dep rol syec oz zaarn_  
It was true love as deep as the ocean’s abyss  
_Was yea erra arsye eazas sguela syana en melenas_  
The sun and moon shared their deepest feelings  
_Rol phira gran won ar dor_  
_Rol pono pecee en aulla faura_  
Like seeds sprouting in the ground, like eggs hatching into small birds  
_Was touwaka erra rre weak en sheak an pomb vallne_  
_grandee oz nuih_  
_vallne oz kira_  
Together they created blessed children, guardians of the night, children of stars

Clearly by magic, the water droplets around Mikleo were suspended in the air around him. He sang and sang, the water droplets all rising up above him before popping and creating a veil of mist around him.

Sorey heard something behind him. Humans heavy with malevolence were intruding on the forest and the lake with the shrine at its bottom with an abundance of containers.  
“W-What are you doing?!” he called out to them. “Stop it!”

The humans didn’t listen to him. They ran knee-deep into the water, filling their jugs and containers full of it as it shined with Mikleo’s Song. But as soon as they waddled out with water-logged shoes and soaked pants, the mist that had formed around Mikleo developed a mind of its own. It rushed into the forest.

_10000 titillia fhau fhauri ween ciellenne nogle_  
With millions of small lights in the black sky  
_Weak lasye teyys pitod sheak lasye_  
The moon prince spent half his life beside the sun prince  
_Was granme erra rre merra pomb vallne oz kira yanje van harra zodal_  
Even if their children perished in battle  
The two princes created more to protect the ocean of souls

_Sos grandus zaarn oz spiritum…sos grandi dius infel mean…_  
To protect the ocean of souls  
To protect our love

_Was yea ra sonwe en melenas yor…_  
I will sing happily and love you deeply forevermore...

Sorey had his dagger ready in his hand. Ready to fight the humans and drive them away from the lake, he charged at them. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the mist fly over him. In the blink of an eye, it was in front of him like a dark cloud. Slowly, the water droplets far too tiny to see or feel condensed into larger drops. The humans were frozen in place, curious about the drops suspended in the air like they had been around Mikleo. One man ventured close to one, and suddenly, the water drops turned into pins and needle made of ice. The man’s eye had been pierced, and while his screams resonated through the forest and chilled his comrades to the bone, there was no sound.

Sorey had been lucky enough to stop before he charged into the veil of death because if he had only set a toe into the area it covered, he would have died as well. He watched in horror as the men collapsed, the ice needles sticking out of their faces.

“T-They’re all dead…?” he whispered to himself. “M-Mikleo’s Song…really did this?”

“Of course, it did,” Mikleo said behind him, giving him quite a start. He stood there in the clothes that could only belong to a deity. “Wait, Sorey? You’re here, too?” A striking pain suddenly surged through their heads. “No…who are you?” he asked him.

“I…” Sorey began, but the words were stuck in his throat. Something was prohibiting from speaking as himself. “I was passing through here when I heard your voice.”

The headache had lessened gradually, as if being reduced because they were following someone else’s rules. They both were aware that it was painting this fantastical scenario, puppeteering them to play the characters in this story. Yet it was strange that they couldn’t break free of that control.

Sorey and Mikleo had always had feelings for each other except neither one could ever express it. Zaveid, Rose, or Edna would tease them if they knew and Lailah would only make matters worse with her romantic ideas of their relationship. It was a quiet love that was going to be kept tucked away in a secret little box until the time was right. But the feelings that their master or masters were instilling into them while they acted out the story rang as clear as bells.

“Why did you come here?” Mikleo asked him. He held his staff in case he needed to perforate this intruder as well. “When will you humans learn that my water is not for you to take?”

“I-I didn’t come here for your water!” Sorey quickly told him.

“Then why are you here?!”

Sorey was intimidated by him. But his true self wasn’t. His true self was deeply confused—why were they fighting about water? Was there something special about it?

“I…My people have been trying to take your water to sell,” Sorey explained. How did he know this? “Your water is considered an elixir of eternal life, right? The lake it comes from is the Fountain of Youth, right?” How did he _know_?

Mikleo pointed his staff at his face. “That’s what you humans decided it was. Yes, my water has healing abilities, but I never gave permission for you vermin to come here and steal it for greed!”

He was prepared to bludgeon him to death in the forest, but seraphim weren’t allowed to kill out of rage. Even if he were to attack to protect his lake like before, the anger behind the act would surely turn him into a dragon. He, however, did not get the chance to hurt Sorey because he was captivated by the marvelous emerald eyes that looked at him both fearfully and curiously. They shined in the moonlight that managed to break through the canopy.

“Tell me, what is your name?” Mikleo asked him. Calmness had come to his voice like the tide being released by the moon.

“Sorey,” the brunet replied. “Yours?”

“Mikleo. I sense something different in you, Sorey. Seraphim can see into the hearts of people, and your heart is quite different from the hearts of other humans I’ve encountered.” He lowered his staff, and all the while, Sorey had finally realized he was still holding his dagger. Perhaps that was why Mikleo had threatened to beat him. The water seraph stepped gingerly into the coveted water. He looked back at his not-so-new acquaintance over his shoulder. “Your heart is pure. I could very say that it’s even filled with love. Will you come back tomorrow?”

“Do you want me to come back?” Sorey asked him softly. “Do you promise not to attempt to kill me?”

Mikleo harrumphed. “I’m not going to kill you!” he sternly said. “But…I do want to learn more about you this strange pureness.”

Sorey and Mikleo stared at each other before the former gave his word that he would return. He promised that he would make sure no other humans came with him or followed him. Naturally, Mikleo reminded him that he could kill them with only a spoken line of Hymmnos.

Contrary to what the two boys had said to each other, the concept of time did not exist within the book. And while this was a fact gleaned from the dips of consciousness that made time appear to move forward, Sorey couldn’t help but think that—in the fogginess of his own mind—he had spent days in this alternate space.

After their initial meeting, Sorey made sure to go to Mikleo’s lake at night. Together, under the controlling guidance of some ethereal being, they learned about each other. They sat at the lakeshore trading stories. The humans that frequently came to the lake for the life-giving water had been trying for years to take as much as they could. The healing qualities of the water stemmed from the underwater shrine that augmented Mikleo’s powers. He feared that one day they would completely drain the lake, and if that were to happen, he would be overcome with malevolence and die.

Sorey explained that many of the humans that were coming for the water at first were in dire need of medicine for sick people. It was then the vocal minority that pushed the action to steal the water for profit. Even though his true self knew all of this was just legend and that in their reality, Mikleo was by no means on par with a god or goddess, he lent himself to the idea that what if his existence was as fleeting as the goddess in the story?

“I don’t agree with them,” he told Mikleo. “Every time they plan to come here, I try to get people to stop them. Stealing is wrong, but stealing from a god? It’s reprehensible!”

Other nights, they walked along the beach of the delta where Mikleo had sung the Song. He held Sorey’s hand as they talked about happier things. They shared interests—learning about the past by exploring ruins and studying plants and animals. It was as if the puppeteers were intrigued by their real personalities that they let them talk about them freely.

“Sorey, thank you for at least trying to stop the humans from coming to my lake,” Mikleo told him.

Days seemed to pass, and for some reason, the number of times that humans invaded the forest and tried to get to the lake decreased. Sorey’s visit became longer and longer until he was spending entire days with Mikleo. Their love blossomed as a result, growing deeper and deeper into their hearts with each passing second. Still, even with their feelings being otherwise supplemented by the story, they couldn’t confess to each other.

“Hey, Mikleo, I’ve been wondering something,” Sorey said one night under a tree near the lake.

Mikleo lay next to him. He fitted perfectly in his well-developed arms, and his finger swirled in little circles on his chest. “Hm?” he hummed.

“The Song you were singing when I met you—what was it about? I only know a few words, but I’m curious how that Song managed to turn mist into a weapon.”

Mikleo sat up, a coy smile on his lips. “Curious, are you?” he teased. “Sorry, but I’m afraid that’s a secret for another day.” He sat so that his entire body was facing Sorey now. “I’ve been wondering something myself, but…I don’t know how to put it.”

“What’s wrong?”

The playful smirk melted away into a shy twisted line on his face. It was dark out, but thanks to the silvery spotlight, Sorey saw his moon-white face turn pink. He looked so precious that his almost fairylike appearance distracted the brunet from his mumbled question.

“Huh?” he uttered.

“I-I said…I wanted to know what you thought of me,” Mikleo seemed to have repeated. “Are you listening? I don’t want to say it a third time.”

“What I thought about you?” Sorey repeated for him. What did he think about him? What did the one guiding his heart think about him, or of the one that was guiding this immaculate example of beauty? “I think you’re beautiful—far too beautiful to be real.”

Mikleo burst out laughing. When asked why he laughed, he couldn’t hold himself back. It was such a cheesy line despite Sorey being rather proud of his poems and metaphors in reality. But it was the giveaway that these feelings weren’t being imposed on him. He was speaking from his heart; the water seraph read it in those glittering, twinkling emerald eyes.

“What else?” he urged.

Sorey, embarrassed that Mikleo had laughed at his first confession, thought long and hard about what else he could say. Was he beautiful like the moon? Precious like aquamarine? Delicate like the very water lilies and flowers that surrounded him? If he touched him, would he shatter and cease to exist? If he kissed him, would he turn into sea form like the pirate stories people used to recite a thousand years ago? There were so many ways to think of him, both emotionally and physically that he wasn’t sure where to begin.

“My heart races every time I wake up and remember I get to see you again,” Sorey told him. “The idea of seeing you makes me feel like I’m living in a dream. Hearing your voice—this is cheesy—it’s literally music to my ears. And if I’m close enough to you, I can smell rain on you. I mean, rain smells the way it does because the smell comes from the earth, but I can only associate it with that. Mikleo, you flood my senses and sometimes it drives me crazy. Sometimes I fear that if I did try to touch you, you’d disappear.”

Mikleo’s face softened. “Well, that’s better than what you said before,” he admitted. “We’ve seen each other for quite some time now. Why haven’t you at least asked to touch me?”

Sorey’s heart skipped a beat. “I…Well…You’re…you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, come on! You’re a seraph. Wouldn’t I taint you with impure thoughts and actions?”

Mikleo laughed again. “I told you, Sorey. Your heart is purer than anyone else I’ve ever read. I’ve been waiting for you to do something. I-I’m not _asking_ you to do anything, but…we’ve been…you know! I’m not going to say it!”

“Are you telling me to do something?” Sorey asked him.

“T-That’s not—”

“Mikleo.”

The Shepherd’s green eyes stared at the holy being before him, lips parted subconsciously as they flicked from the amethyst orbs reflecting his image to the supple pink lips of the one he had fallen in love with. The two boys were sitting up under the tree, unmoving and in total silence. Even the crickets that sang through the night had quieted to something of a barely audible whisper, and the gentle blinking of the fireflies around them cast specks of light around them.

Sorey leaned in close on one hand. He stopped just short of Mikleo’s form. There was hesitation in him—was he really going to do this? He knew Mikleo was hinting at finally kissing him and touching him, yet there was something in his heart and mind that made him feel like perhaps it was too risky. Maybe, he couldn’t help but think, Mikleo didn’t really want this. He could have been projecting onto him, which made him feel worse. But he was so close now, bated breaths and tense anticipation and apprehension sitting on their shoulders.

“Sorey…what’s wrong…?” Mikleo asked him. Like the crickets, his voice was almost nonexistent. The wisps of his breath tickled his lips.

Sorey wanted desperately to kiss him; nothing was wrong except for the possibility of crossing a line he was not supposed to cross. Scooting closer to him, he almost absentmindedly touched his lips. They were so soft, a far cry from the idea that Mikleo himself was made of the finest china.

“I…want to kiss you, but—”

“So, what’s stopping you? Kiss me already!”

Sorey had to giggle. When did he become so adamant? But he couldn’t help it. He wanted him so much more with every second he spent looking at him. He leaned in again, only millimeters from him. Really, what was stopping him? They had spent so much time together. If there was going to be anytime to do it, it had to be now.

He pushed himself forward, and Mikleo happily caught him. At first, it was simply lips on lips. Sorey had never done it before, and he had always been shy about trying to practice. Then there was the problem that there was no one to practice on. The feelings that were bubbling in him, however, pushed him. He followed through, hesitantly coaxing Mikleo to reciprocate. The kiss broke.

“M-Mikleo…” Sorey bashfully said. “That wasn’t great, was it?”

Mikleo pushed a lock of hair behind his ear. “I didn’t dislike it,” he breathed.

Once the two were comfortable with this newfound territory in their relationship, they went deeper. Sorey kissed him harder, his hands holding Mikleo’s head. Mikleo encouraged it, leaning farther and farther back until he was almost laying down. Propped up on his elbows while Sorey loomed over him. He held his chin as he let his tongue work its way into the water seraph’s mouth.

“Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” Mikleo teased him.

“I’m pretty sure I’d know if I’ve kissed anyone,” Sorey replied. He pulled back to give him something of an annoyed look. He eyed the billowing robes under him. “Mikleo…” They were waves of white around him. “These robes…they’re in the way.”

“That sounds like a personal problem,” Mikleo antagonized him.

There was something of a playful smile that was soon replaced with an expectant look. He wondered if Sorey was going to take it upon himself to work his way through the mound of cloth or if he should cut him a break. In all honesty, he liked watching Sorey’s eyes flick back and forth with determination trying to mentally deconstruct his clothes. But if he was left to do everything on his own, he would eventually get frustrated. Mikleo sprung up, pecking Sorey on his nose before laying back down. He took hold of the sashes crisscrossing over his chest and pulled them from him.

“I suppose I can do some of the work for you,” he said. With the sashes parted, the form-fitting shirt now barred the way to his bare skin. For a moment, Sorey thought it was made of water. Was it a trick of the eye? “Am I going to have to do this for you, too?”

“N-No! Your outfit isn’t so complicated that I need you to walk me through it!” Sorey pouted, much to Mikleo’s delight. “I thought, for a second, that your shirt was made of water.”

“Even I, a water seraph, am not that basic; I’m actually offended.”

“W-What? That’s not…oh, you’re teasing again!”

Sorey leaned down to meet him with the weight falling on one arm while he reached up under the shirt with his free hand. Mikleo’s breath hitched for a moment at the sensation of Sorey’s warm but callused fingers gliding up the side of his torso. The brunet caught him in a kiss, his lips warm against the other’s cool skin. He simply enjoyed being able to touch him like this—it was new and exciting, and they weren’t around their friends to see it. Mikleo maneuvered so that he could take off the shirt that was just getting in the way at this point. He held Sorey down on him by his neck as his hand stopped at his chest. By now, Sorey had cupped his face, kissing him over and over in earnest. He moved to Mikleo’s neck, and the water seraph was more than willing to let him wash him with love.

Then Sorey stopped and sat up. Mikleo’s skin was tinged pink like blush porcelain, and it only made him want to continue. He, however, was nervous. Was it really okay? Staring at his bare chest amid the robes and emerald grass illuminated by the moon, he was picturesque.

“Getting shy again?” Mikleo asked him, this time not teasing him or badgering him to keep up his work. “You’re fine; I’m not bothered if that’s what you’re worried about. And if I have to repeat myself again—no, I’m not going to be tainted.”

Sorey relaxed. With a little smile that shone like the sun, he simply asked, “Do you like this so far?”

Mikleo’s face turned blood-red. “W-What kind of question is that?!” he asked flustered like never before. “I-If I didn’t like it, I’d have said so!”

“True!” Sorey took this moment to take off his shirt. The well-developed muscles of his arms and chest, sculpted by years of practicing to wield his sword and months of journeying around their homeland, made Mikleo’s mouth water. “I guess…I can go a little further, then?”

“Wait a second, were you only pretending to be shy?! That’s devious!”

“You know you liked it!” Sorey laughed. He bent back down to meet him. “I really like you, Mikleo, but how far do you want to go?”

“However far you want.”

Deep in the forest, no one would hear them. They were in their own little world devoid of anyone that would try to listen to them or intrude on them, and it granted Sorey the freedom that he otherwise never had in the real world that existed outside of the book titled Shelanoir’s Forest.

The sweet innocence evolved into ardent affection between the two. They seized this moment for themselves. Sorey worked his way from Mikleo’s lips down his neck and to his chest where his racing heart beat seemingly like a drum. He couldn’t create any Songs in the singularity of excitement, yet there was a Song in the very abyss of his soul that he wanted to express to his one and only. The forest and lake and everything within thus glowed with light reflecting his feelings.

When Sorey came to his abdomen, he had found something new was taking place in him. A fire that was slowly growing. He could feel it on Mikleo’s skin as well. After all, it wasn’t very often that the water seraph even gotten remotely hot. He took a second to observe the water seraph who was squirming and chirping, the lake and how the lights dancing on its surface. He hadn’t expected him to react in such a way, and it only piqued his curiosity more. He carefully—in truth, hesitantly—gripped the rim of Mikleo’s trousers.

“Sorey?” Mikleo gasped. His voice was breathy and higher than usual.

“Do you trust me?” Sorey asked him.

“You know I do!” He wasn’t angry; the heightened emotion that was a product of this expedition of the heart had become his master. “Keep going, Sorey! We can’t stop now! Please…!”

There had been only one recent other time that Mikleo was this passionate about something, and it only stoked the fire more. Sorey returned to his lips for a longer kiss then set about to uncovering the rest of him.

“Y-You’re staring,” Mikleo grumbled.

“I just didn’t expect to see you riled up,” Sorey sheepishly told him. Mikleo furrowed his brow. “I mean, I got the hint, but…”

In a snap, Mikleo used his water to push Sorey off of him so he could straddle him. He caressed his face, trailed a finger down his chest and stomach to the edge of his pants. Impatient yet trying to hold back from throwing himself at the one he loved most in the world, he did the same thing to him.

“There! You’re just as riled up as me!” Mikleo pouted.

“Is that right?” Sorey coyly asked. He flipped the water seraph so that now he was on top again. Kissing him once more for only a moment, they stared at each other’s eyes. “We’ve come this far.”

“And no one’s here to get in the way,” Mikleo whispered. He pecked his partner.

The lights that had brightened the forest were blinding at this point, making everything appear to be engulfed in the radiance of their love. The two, having spent enough time dancing around, decided that it was time to meld together. Mikleo welcomed him inside, and Sorey was careful not to hurt him as he made sure he was prepared.

The music in Mikleo’s heart escaped as mewls and gasps from his mouth as his lover entered him. He gripped him by his shoulders, panting and leaving a kiss here and there on his cheeks. Sorey focused on pleasuring him with slow and tantalizing rhythm that took the utmost patience and discipline to control. But he could only hold himself to this for so long because, like Mikleo, there was a song in him that he wanted to gift him.

“I love you, Mikleo,” Sorey whispered into his ear over the breathy pants coming from the water seraph. “Since I first saw you singing, I’ve loved you. I wasn’t ever sure if I could hold you like this now.”

“S-Sorey—”

Something like a war cry echoed through the forest surrounding Mikleo’s lake, and the lights immediately vanished. The two boys lay quietly for a moment until Mikleo urgently told Sorey they needed to stop what they were doing and investigate. After they separated and got dressed, Sorey led Mikleo in the direction of the sound.

They drew closer and closer to shouts and profanity coming from the edge of the forest far away from the lake. Hidden in the bushes, they watched and listened in horror at the decrees:

“We’ve suffered at the hands of this cursed lake and its man-eating forest for too long! Tonight is the night that we put an end to it! Drain the lake and burn down the forest! If we can’t have that water, no one can! Not even the demon hiding in the place!”

The other humans began chanting it like some sort of sacrificial incantation. Their voices slowly grew more and more distorted, the malevolence taking hold of them. Right before their eyes, the humans lost themselves to the greed. Their faces morphed into wolves and tigers and demons. The bodies grew both in size and in build. The humans that so desperately wanted the water from Mikleo’s lake had become slaves to their desires and ill intent. They had become hellions.

Mikleo was struck with fear yet also a desire to protect what was his. This wasn’t the first time that Sorey had seen that determination, that guardian attitude, the enforcer that had stuck by his side since birth in the real world. The water seraph was as dutiful as his Shepherd; and whether or not this was truly him or some other person making him feel this way, he supported him. But he acknowledged that there was danger involved. The hellions were feeding off of each other. Their power was growing exponentially. Would Mikleo be able to fight them like that? They needed to act now before the venomization got out of control.

Though, even as he grabbed his dagger, Sorey wasn’t sure he could fight them off either. He wasn’t himself in the story but someone else. He was someone that didn’t have the power of purification. If he murdered the tens of people that had gathered to destroy the lake and its forest, would he be able to live with himself?

This wasn’t the time to think about that; how could he hesitate over something like that? Mikleo was in danger! Taking hold of his little dagger, he steeled himself. He had to do something to keep Mikleo, the forest, the lake, and the shrine in the water safe.

Perhaps he was too late to do anything.

What sounded like the roar of a tiger filled the air. Sorey let go of the handle of his dagger, instead pulling Mikleo close. Their surroundings were getting darker, hazier, and smelled like burning wood.

“No…” Mikleo quivered at first. “No, no, no! _No!_ ” he screamed out. He broke from Sorey’s embrace, pushing through the bushes to the lake in plain sight of the hellions that were scooping buckets after buckets of water out and pouring it onto the ground. “Stop this!”

The smoke of the fire grew thicker and thicker, prompting Sorey to follow behind the water seraph into the open. Mikleo used his Song Magic to flood out the hellions only for them to get back up and claw dirt into the water. With each spell he cast, less water remained in the lake. The shrine that had been submerged before was now vulnerable to the raging fire. That shrine could not be destroyed or else he would die.

That wasn’t the only problem. Mikleo felt sick suddenly, like a horrible venom had been injected into him. He collapsed to his knees despite all his efforts to stand and protect his property. The malevolence had leached from the hellions and into the water was corrupting him, and he could feel himself growing faint.

“S-Stop…this…!” he panted, the fatigue settling in much faster than he expected even with so many monsters around him.

“Mikleo!” Sorey called to him over the fire and commotion.

He couldn’t stand aside anymore. He took the dagger, attacking whatever hellions were closest to him. A handful of them fell to his assault while others fought back. They pushed him back to the fire. The burns incurred paralyzed him, and just like his lover, he was forced to watch them drain the lake and throw dirt into the pit. The shrine was gradually covered.

“Stop this right now!” Mikleo bellowed. “Stop it!”

The malevolence had gotten to him, and as the negative energy enveloped him, a surge of power returned to his small frame. Sorey witnessed his friend and beloved seraph transform into the shape of his anger and hatred for humans. Coiling horns of raw sapphire grew from the crown of his head, and scales colored deep blue calcified on his skin. His eyes, violet and red like alexandrite, shone by the fire.

“M-Mikleo…d-don’t…” Sorey whimpered. He had never witnessed the horrific event of someone turning into a dragon. “Control yourself! Please!”

His words were drowned by the hollers and calls of the hellions that turned their attention to attack the dragon. Mikleo didn’t hesitate; his body now at least ten times larger and stronger and harder than his enemies, chomped down on the hellions that dared to harm him.

“No, this is too horrible…” Sorey breathed. “This…This can’t be how the story goes…”

_What do you want to do?_

“Huh?” Sorey looked around amidst the chaos. “Who…said that?”

_If you could redo it, would you?_

“Of course! This can’t be how the story goes! This is too sad!”

_This was how she felt. Love couldn’t save her forest. It won’t be able to save your dearest’s lake._

“I don’t care, I have to stop this from happening!” Sorey glanced back at the dragon devouring the hellions one by one. “Please, I can’t bear to lose Mikleo—not like this. Not when we still have to accomplish our dream!”

_Let me read you a story from being with the Gods from the beginning then. If you can prove your love, then perhaps he can be saved…_

The anguish raged.

“I’ll do it! I’ll prove it to you!” Sorey called out.

And just like that, all the chaos and horror that he had just witnessed vanished. The horrendous growling of the flames that consumed the forest and its life-giving lake, the howls of the hellions that fell to Mikleo’s hatred and anger, the monster that was once the one he loved—everything disappeared. Sorey was wrapped in darkness.

Or so he thought.


	2. A Vow of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorey is given a second chance to save Mikleo, but at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the conclusion to the SorMik BB and I must say, proofing this felt very different than what I'm used to spewing out on a word doc. I'm not translating any Hymmnos in this chapter, but given the context, it should be easy to get. If not, I'll give the translation if anyone wants it.

He opened his eyes to find that he was lying in a small clearing in the forest that obscured Mikleo’s lake. Everything was back to normal, untouched by the greed-fed and hate-tainted malevolence. Even the lake had been restored. Confused and dazed, he crawled to the lakeshore. Staring at the sparkling water that seemed to be lounging on the gentle slope, Sorey’s troubled heart grew easy. The story had been restarted like the mysterious voice had said it would be.

“ _saa liv ar utti ZeeiFaLea…_ ” Sorey said, repeating the echoing in his head. He tried to understand what it could mean, but with no knowledge of even how to decode Ar Ciela, it was futile.

He didn’t have time to waste now. He had to find Mikleo and prevent the tragedy from happening. Still, he had to wonder. The story was based on a legend, but there was no way that it could have ended with the goddess in the story turning into a dragon. The letters in the book had been written using ink created from iris gems, and iris gems held within them the malevolence of the past. If the book had been corrupted, was there any way he could purify it? He had to go.

Sorey fought his way through the forest to the delta he had previously seen Mikleo singing, and naturally—as he had expected—he found him there. The water seraph seemed to have just finished his Song, the serenity in his form instantly making the brunet forget that he was looking for a way to stop the forest from being destroyed.

“M-Mikleo!” he blurted out as he ran up to meet him.

“Another intruder!” Mikleo hissed. “A-And how do you know my name?! What sort of vile being are you?!”

“Stop, hold on a minute!”

“Aqua Serpent!”

Sorey was thrown back with a spiral of watery dragons. The wind knocked out of him, he lay on the ground with a throbbing pain in his torso.

“My Song should have killed you like all the other humans! What kind of sorcery is this?”

“Just hold on a second!” Sorey begged again. “I…I want to help you. That’s why I’m here.”

“I don’t need help from a human.”

“But you do!”

Sorey pushed himself up now. He cautiously made his way to the seraph. His hands were up to show he meant no harm. What could he say to make him understand? Should he follow through and tell him he knew what was going to happen? Or should he simply let the events play out and change what was needed? Would telling him what would happen interfere with the story?

“The humans that are invading your forest and stealing from your lake are from my village,” Sorey told him. “I can’t stop them on my own, so let me help you drive them away.”

Mikleo raised an eyebrow at him. He found this human so suspicious that he couldn’t bring himself to trust him. He was a filthy human whose race had been threatening to destroy his home for his precious water. There was no way that he could allow him to remain in his forest. But Sorey was adamant. He offered his hand to him, his emerald eyes sparkling like the water yet reflecting the trepidation of being turned out.

“What do I have to do to make you trust me?” he asked.

Mikleo avoided looking into his shining eyes. Still, he couldn’t help but read his heart. His wish was pure, and he didn’t sense any ill intent; in fact, there was an overwhelming desire to protect the lake no matter what.

“When?” the water seraph uttered.

“When?”

“When…will they attack?”

Sorey hadn’t thought about the length of time it had taken for the forest to burn at the hands of the greedy humans. Searching his memory, the days had melded together. He had to make a guess.

“One week,” he arbitrarily said. Had it taken them a week? Or had it been sooner? Later? He didn’t know. He just knew that he had to protect Mikleo and his lake. “I can’t let him turn again,” he whispered to himself an unbreakable vow.

“Turn?”

“I—it’s nothing!”

“Such a strange being.”

The love that had grown in Sorey’s heart was still there, flourishing like a flower in spring. The only thing now was to continue to foster their relationship. He wanted him to trust him. Will Mikleo love him as much as he did before? The questions were endless, and every chance at a reprieve he had only filled him with more of them. They fed the ever-present fear. How many times, he had to wonder, would it take to restart the story if he failed again?

“Human,” Mikleo called to him.

“O-Oh! What’s wrong?”

“A multitude of things. I need to call you something, and you seem to be distracted by another.” Mikleo crossed his arms. “Since you know my name, tell me yours.”

He had forgotten that his memory had been reset; he was fully fitted into his role. Sorey introduced himself. He couldn’t tell him why he was distracted, which only made this divine creature more wary of him.

And so began the preparation for the humans’ attack. But in the time it took Sorey to preemptively set traps for the humans around the forest, his heart yearned for Mikleo. The feeling, surprisingly to the water seraph, was mutual. When he watched him, everything melted away. His eyes only focused on Sorey. His heart beat for him.

When Sorey would leave to return to his home among the humans to gain insight to their plans, he caught himself wondering when in the morning he would be back. Then he would greet him with a subdued smile almost like he didn’t want him to know that he loved him. Sorey wasn’t sure if this iteration of Mikleo did love him. He just knew that this time he wouldn’t let him turn into a dragon.

Time moved so slowly, though. It was agonizing waiting for the greedy humans’ onslaught, yet still Sorey worried about fostering the love with Mikleo again. Until a night that both had decided that they had done everything they could to prepare.

“The humans have yet to attack,” Mikleo sighed. “Are you positive that they’re going to destroy the forest and drain the lake?”

“Yes, I’m positive!” Sorey stressed. “I’ve been watching them, remember?” He looked around. “It just feels like…I don’t know if we’re early or if they’ll come tonight.” He was anxious—if they came that night, he swore not to fool around like they had before. He so desperately wanted to feel him again, though. “We’ve done absolutely everything, right?”

Mikleo kept sneaking peeks at him while the brunet checked the traps over and over. He could tell how tense he was, and perhaps egged on by the bashful love fluttering in his heart, he had to wonder if he could help him to relax. He sauntered up behind him then gently placed his hand on his back. The human was startled for just a moment.

“It’s so strange seeing you this frightened, Sorey,” Mikleo quietly said. “I had the impression that you were rather calm and collected, but you’re truly scared.” His arms slowly encompassed his torso, pulling him to the seraph for a reassuring hug. “Whatever you’re afraid of, please don’t worry about it. I’ll protect you, you know?”

“I’m not worried about me.”

Sorey, troubled by the events that would soon transpire, faced Mikleo. The water seraph was far too precious to be subject to the tragedy of greed a second time. The image of him becoming a dragon was horrible. It was the stuff of nightmares, and he never wanted to him suffer like that again. In turn, that terror that had stained his magnificently adventurous and kind green eyes hurt Mikleo.

“Sorey, may I?” he asked quietly, suddenly, with some reservation befitting of the goddess from the legend. He stood up on his tiptoes. Like a slow and comforting drizzle of a spring shower, he pecked him. First on each of his cheeks. Then on his lips, and much longer than the preceding kisses. “It’s going to be okay.” The next second, his face turned bright red. “I-I wasn’t thinking! I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me!”

“I-It’s fine!” Sorey panicked as well. “I…I really liked it!” He reflexively snatched Mikleo’s hand. He pressed his lips onto his palm then held it to his cheek. “Mikleo, I love you too much to let you and your forest die. I’ll protect your lake if it’s the last thing I do!”

Taken aback, Mikleo hadn’t expected him to reciprocate the feeling with such earnest. How could he be so confident with this love? Had they met before? How could they have? His head turned and churned to try and figure it out until, without much thought, he swore to him:

“And I’ll protect you, too. I’ll heal your wounds with my water, so don’t be scared.”

It was almost like before. He wanted to lay with him and forget the impending doom. But such foolishness had to wait. If they surrendered themselves to it now, Sorey knew that they would simply just repeat what had happened last time. They had to remain vigilant.

Instead of falling into him, he only kissed him and held him close so that his heart beat dully in his ears. War was on the horizon.

The two spent the next few hours in silence. Their fingers were intertwined with each other. They stood beside each other at the edge of the lake. There was a chill in the air that seemed like an omen. Something was coming, and they knew that the fight was just about to begin.

Horses whinnied, torches flickered in the darkness outside of the forest. The shouts and growls and snarls of the hellionized humans echoed like rolling thunder, but still Sorey and Mikleo didn’t falter.

An earthquake set off by the stampede into the forest began. The plants that buffered the world from the shining water at the center were trampled and torn apart. They made it difficult to traverse, but whatever the hellions couldn’t break through was burned away. The flames spread quickly to the center.

Sorey took his dagger. These figures weren’t real—he had to repeat that over and over to avoid becoming tainted. In this world of pages, he was not the Shepherd but a Teru boy that had fallen in love with the celestial that guarded his lake. He dove into the fighting. Stabbing and killing the hellions that surrounded him, backed up by the water seraph using his Song Magic and glistening water, they fought off the monsters.

But because he wasn’t the Shepherd, not bound with any other seraphim, Sorey wasn’t invincible or as strong as he had been in the real world. The hellions clawed his back and legs, threw him to the ground, and further encroached on the lake.

“Mikleo!” he called out to him.

_Rrha wol wa 0x vvi_

_chs hymmnos mea_   
_bansh anw dand_   
_agldeio dea ammue_   
_valwa yora spiritum_

_1x AAs ixi_

_Was zweie ra yehar anw yora tes dauan li sol mea dorne_

The water swirled in Mikleo’s lake around the shrine like a whirlpool. Every droplet that eddied in it rose into the air, and the water locked within the foliage joined it until it was a bubble that loomed over the forest.

“Mikleo, don’t!” Sorey begged him.

“I must flush out the evil that corrupts these humans!” Mikleo told him. “Don’t worry about me.”

It was true that while using the water to push the hellions out and purify them at the same time, it was also possible that such a drastic move would kill him. Instead, Sorey accepted what he had to do.

“Forgive me,” he choked. He dashed to Mikleo. With a quick stab into his side, he interrupted Mikleo’s spell. The water fell back into the crater left behind. “I can’t let you do this.”

“S-Sorey…you stabbed me?” Mikleo asked him with labored breath. It was a non-fatal wound, but it felt as if he had cut through him. “Why…?”

Sorey didn’t answer him as he watched his beloved scramble to heal the wound he had caused. And in that time, as darkness was once again threatening to destroy the forest, he lured the hellions away from the lake and far away out of the forest. His naturally high resonance and the purity in his heart shined like a jewel, and it whetted their appetites far more than the water.

Mikleo didn’t know what to do. His wound was healing so slowly with his consciousness drifting from the pain and disbelief that the one he loved would have turned his blade on him. But the hellions were leaving _en masse_ from the forest. His lake was no longer under threat. He was safe, but at what cost?

He wandered through his forest, waiting for Sorey to return. Hours turned to days; there was no sign of him. Days became weeks and months. A full year had passed before he knew it. Sorey didn’t return.

He offered prayers every night with the hope that this strange, bright-eyed human would return. He didn’t sleep—he didn’t have to, but he had gotten so used to resting with him that it felt natural. He didn’t eat for it brought back painful memories from an otherwise unknown past. His head hurt; the needling feeling that someone else was standing with him. There was no one, however.

“Why?” he asked every day. “Why did you stop me? Why did you leave me?”

The seasons changed, the dew-covered spring flowers eventually fading away into brown crisps of winter. There was still no sign of him.

Until one day.

Mikleo had grown weary from waiting for him. His mind idled in the relapse of believing him to be okay and worrying that perhaps he had been killed. He dragged himself to the edge of the forest. There, emerging on the zenith as dawn broke, someone was walking. He was bleeding from various lacerations and punctures, but he still managed to carry himself forward. He panted, struggling to come nearer. Mikleo’s amethyst eyes brimmed with tears.

The figure that had been walking towards him was clutching a large and deep gash in his side that mirrored the knife wound he had given to his love. Though he wasn’t present, he still wore a tired smile. His face was extremely pale, tiny beads of sweat forming as more and more blood seeped from his wound.

“S-Sorey!” Mikleo gasped. He wasn’t sure if he was happy to see him or regretful that he had ended up so close to heaven’s door. “I’ve got you!” he called out to him, sprinting to him. Sorey’s legs finally gave out from under him, sending him toppling into the water seraph’s arms. “What happened to you?!”

The poor young man that had journeyed long and far to protect the one he loved couldn’t answer him. Instead, Mikleo supported him on his shoulder. He walked him back into the forest. Sorey was getting heavier.

“No, come on, stay with me! I have to get you back to the lake!”

As he neared the lakeshore, he was forced to not only drag Sorey along but hold him up as best as he could. His weight caught onto the thin sashes that draped around his slender body, and as he lowered him into the shallow waters, the fabrics tore. Painstakingly careful not to irritate the gash, Mikleo pulled off his blood-soaked shirt. The crimson that had stained it flushed into the ripples around him, dissipating and diluting away. He took handfuls of the water to wash his face and chest that remained above water. All the dirt and dried blood that had been on him was gone in an instant, and he saw the pure heart that he had fallen in love with. But he wasn’t finished yet. The wound wasn’t healing; it was far too deep. There was no way that he would survive if he left it alone.

“ _Rrha ki gaya frrie pawr oz jue pirtue_ ,” Mikleo chanted. The lake in its entirety softly glowed.

_Rrha ki gaya frrie pawr oz jue pirtue_   
_Presia ates wearequewie mea_   
_Ma num gaya accrroad araus mea_   
_Van paul vancck oz zash yor_

The light had grown in intensity around him. He lifted his hand, a swirl of leaves and flower petals melting into water in it. The bubble that formed shined the brightest. It kept its shape even after submerging it and holding it near the wound.

_Hyear, infelious Sorey,_   
_Presia hyma anw hynne mea_   
_Was touwaka gaya endia zash yor_   
_Was yea erra gyuss anw yor_   
_Etealune…etealune…_

The orb of water encircled Sorey’s midriff. Using this power was a last resort to prevent someone from dying. It drained Mikleo of his energy to the brink of death himself, but he kept hold of Sorey. He wouldn’t die as long as he wished to stand by his side.

Operating like a healing salve, the bands of water that wrapped around now both of them erased all evidence of the gash. Sorey’s emerald eyes cracked open slightly, and he could see the porcelain white skin, the pale aquamarine hair, and the tightly shut eyes of the one he had gone to the ends of the world for. He was speechless still; the spell that Mikleo had initiated to heal him was still working, but he couldn’t help but interpret Mikleo’s expression as one of pain. Was it hurting him to save him like this?

He reached up to his cheek. His fingers gently grazed him as he propped himself up to gingerly kiss him in the light of the life-giving water. He saw the scar he had left on his love’s side, a bittersweet smile stretching on his lips once he parted from him.

“You’re okay,” he breathed, his voice still indicating that he hadn’t quite regained all his strength. “I was worried…even though I made sure not to hit anything important…”

“It worked!” Mikleo gasped. Enormous tears gathered in his eyes. Despite being as winded as he was from the Hymmnos spell, he hugged him so tightly that Sorey had to cry out to take it easy.

“M-Mikleo, that hurts…!” the brunet flinched with a giggle.

“How could you be so…so stupid?!” Mikleo wailed. “I waited for you for so long! I thought you had died! Stupid Sorey! I thought you were gone!” Was he angry or was he sad or was he happy to see him? He couldn’t begin to sort out his feelings. His fingers clawed into his back as if he were afraid to let him go again. “I thought I had lost the only human…that ever cared…to protect my lake…!” He let go just enough so they could stare into each other’s eyes.

The pain subsiding a bit, Sorey sheepishly chuckled. “I’m sorry! I couldn’t think; I didn’t have time to! But it’s okay now. Your forest and lake and shrine—everything is safe. Those humans and hellions won’t come back.”

“What…do you mean?” Mikleo asked him. “What did you do?”

Sorey stood up with his partner’s help. He asked him to help him get to the shrine submerged in the lake by forming a bubble around them and sinking below the surface. He knew he was tired from just using the strongest Song Magic he could muster, but it was of utmost importance. Mikleo did as he was asked, and together they went underwater.

Nearing the shrine, Sorey pulled a small orb made of aquamarine ore. Placing it on the small alter, he recited a phrase from memory:

_Ma ki ra coall tes revm idesy an afezeria anw ieeya oz futare_   
_Presia grandi her varda en titilia zaarn sos infelious Mikleo_   
_Aiph sos hes_   
_Rre harton mea na dest dea crudea iemma_   
_Was yea erra sonwa infel en yor_

Mikleo listened to him speak Hymmnos effortlessly. There was no doubt in his mind that he had practiced during his journey back to him. The words he spoke, however, touched him deeply. The orb, some sort of protective artifact from far away, glowed brilliantly. A surge of power pulsed from it, and immediately he felt a comforting and strong domain.

“What…was that?” Mikleo asked.

“I searched everywhere for something that could always protect you, even when I vanish one day,” Sorey explained. “It’s a gift from the Lord of Water. She said that this orb would keep you and your lake safe if I sincerely desired its help.”

“S-So…you…b-basically…”

“I thought that there wasn’t anything more sincere than exactly how I felt about you.” Sorey snuck his hand into Mikleo’s. “Admittedly, I had to ask Her for help translating it all into Hymmnos, but I thought this way of saying it was the most fitting.”

Mikleo hid his face in his hands. It wasn’t some corny poem, and there were probably mistakes in his translation. But somehow, no matter what it was, it touched him so deeply that he accidentally released the magic that kept them underwater. And at that instant, Sorey hurriedly swam to the surface. Mikleo used his water to carry himself up after him, catching him by his lips before he had gotten a proper breath.

At that same moment, the world around them grew pale, bathed in a warm light as they were lifted out of the water and above the forest. They clung to each other.

_It’s time to return to your world._

“Huh?” Sorey uttered.

“Are we…going home?” Mikleo asked.

_Yes. You’ve purified the holy pages of this story. Thank you, Gentle Shepherd, Kind Seraph of Water._

The wondrous world that they had lived in for what felt like years, faded away like the end of a dream.

========================================  
 _Wsyera syat eell revv sstaary_  
========================================

Sorey roused first from his sleep. He and Mikleo were nestled close together on the bed in the inn room that they had rented for the evening. The morning sun trickled in. Its warm streams caressed their faces like Zenrus’s hands. The water seraph, curled up in his Shepherd’s arms, breathed peacefully.

The story etched the pages of the book had felt so real yet appeared as a dream. He wasn’t sure if it had truly happened. Then he remembered—the Song that the previous incarnation of the story held and the one sung before he had been healed—what were they? The poem that he had recited…Sorey blushed uncontrollably.

“D-Did I really say that to him?!” he interrogated himself in a whisper.

Mikleo opened his eyes at the sound of his voice. While seraphim never truly had a need to sleep, he enjoyed it if it was with Sorey. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he smiled. “Good morning, Sorey.”

“G-Good morning! Hey, do you remember anything from last night?” he asked him. Mikleo shook his head. “I don’t think so…except a rather touching bit of Hymmnos.”

Sorey’s face turned bright red as he hid it in his hands, unable to look his beloved seraph in his amethyst eyes. He wasn’t a master poet yet, and he had hoped that coming up with something in Hymmnos would help him to sound less cheesy. But Mikleo simply laughed, just like he did when they had met in the story.

“It was sweet, Sorey,” he assured him. The way he said that and how peaceful he looked…Sorey leaned forward. “E-Eh…?”

Sorey kissed him. He gently wrapped his arms around him and held him as he lost himself in the sensation of their lips touching. Shortly after, Mikleo had fallen onto the bed, Sorey over him and clasping his hands in his. When they parted, he gazed into the purple orbs.

“I love you…more than anything, Mikleo,” he softly said. “I was frightened in that story, but not anymore if my feelings truly got to you.”

Mikleo stroked his face with his slender fingers. “They did, Sorey,” he replied just as quietly. “Also, we need to take the book back, don’t we?”

Sorey shot up from him. He was right! And they had to get moving soon! As much as he wanted to stay with Mikleo and hold onto him, they had a duty to do. But it was thanks to the priest and the story he had given them that they were able to spend what felt like months together. Even if was filled with pain and strife, they were happy to have experienced it.

“Ah, if you remember the Hymmnos…!” Sorey gasped. “What about the times we—”

“No idea what you’re talking about. Let’s get going.”

“R-Right!”

As Mikleo picked the book up and made sure it was still in respectable condition, Sorey had to wonder: did he truly not remember, or was he trying to make him feel better? He couldn’t bring himself to ask him, but there would be a day that maybe he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was so much fun writing this and having Zyo draw for it. If the event goes on again, I'll definitely write again. Thanks to the SorMik Big Bang mods for this opportunity.

**Author's Note:**

> Such a LONG first chapter, but there's only one other chapter left. I'll trying to post it next weekend, but since it's a holiday weekend, there's no guarantee.
> 
> Thank you once again Zyo for the lovely art, which I will add as soon as I can to the fic! Thak you to my betas Quetz and OathSister for the support!


End file.
